FC Bayern Munich keeps its chance of winning the German Basketball Cup alive. A revenge is also possible when they reach the semi-finals
The FC Bayern Munich basketball team is the fourth and final team to qualify for the German Basketball League cup semi-finals. The defending cup champions won 86:78 (47:43) at Telekom Baskets Bonn on Sunday. The Bavarians thus also gained revenge for their league defeat in Bonn a month ago.
The cup final tournament will be held on February 17/18, 2024, but a venue has not yet been decided. The draw after the game in Bonn revealed that Bamberg Baskets will play Munich and Alba Berlin will face ratiopharm Ulm. Bamberg, Berlin and Ulm also won away from home in the quarter-finals on Saturday.
Munich got off to the better start thanks to Carsen Edwards, scored a high percentage from the floor and led 22:19 after the first quarter despite conceding a number of turnovers. The visitors stretched their lead to double digits early on with an 8:0 start to the second period. The professional players from Bonn’s bench around national basketball player Christian Sengfelder (21 points) provided a lot of impetus, the home side made few mistakes and reduced the deficit to 43:47 at the break.
Bonn was not able to carry this momentum into the second half, scoring just three points in the first seven minutes of the third quarter. The visitors now controlled the game, dominated the rebounding duel and found a strong option in offense in Sylvain Francisco (22 points). The 26-year-old guard drained a total of nine of his twelve attempts from the field and remained perfect from beyond the arc (6/6, plus 3/6 threes). Bayern opened up a gap of up to 17 points and did not allow Bonn to get closer than seven points in the final period.
Telekom Baskets Bonn – Bayern Munich 78:86 (43:47)
Best scorers for Bonn: Sengfelder (21 points), Fobbs (16), Watson Jr. (15), Frey (10)
Best scorers Munich: Francisco (22), Booker (20), Edwards (14), Bonga (12)
Spectators: 6000